Where does EPA’s 111(d) authority to regulate carbon emissions from existing power plants come from?

The news has been full of talk this week about the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed public health standard to reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. We’ve blogged about it here and here and -- one more -- here. This is an encouraging development in the fight to limit damage from climate change, but where does EPA’s authority come from?

The short answer is that EPA’s authority comes from the Clean Air Act, which establishes a comprehensive federal regulatory regime for managing air pollution. The Clean Air Act was initially enacted in 1963 but has been amended several times since then. Among other things, the Act establishes a system for achieving national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for certain air pollutants, and addresses releases of substances designated hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). EPA credits the Clean Air Act with reducing emissions of NAAQS-related pollutants – particles, ground-level ozone, lead, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide – by an average of 72 percent since 1970 while the nation’s economy was more than doubling in size. In addition to domestic air pollution controls, the Clean Air Act has been used as a tool to address global problems, such as implementation of the Montreal Protocol, which has been successful at managing ozone-depleting substances to prevent further damage to the planet’s stratospheric ozone layer.  

To regulate carbon emissions from existing power plants, EPA is proposing to use its authority under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. § 7411(d). That section allows the agency to require each state to submit a plan for achieving performance standards for existing sources of air pollution – in this case, carbon dioxide from power plants. Under its proposed rule, EPA would require each state to submit a plan demonstrating that existing electric power plants would be able to meet a state-specific carbon reduction goal by 2030. If all states meet their goals by 2030, the country as a whole will reduce its carbon emissions by 30 percent from 2005 levels. EPA’s proposed rule allows states a considerable amount of flexibility in deciding how to achieve their targets. For example, states are allowed to achieve emission reductions in a number of ways – both by achieving efficiency within power plants themselves and by using “outside the fence line” techniques that will reduce demand for power from plants that burn fossil fuels. This flexibility will enable states to accomplish the goals EPA has set in a way that is good for both the environment and the economy.

Although EPA’s proposed rule already has generated controversy and, when finalized, may generate litigation, we hope and expect that by the year 2030, the significant reduction in carbon emissions required by yesterday’s proposed rulemaking will be added to the list of accomplishments enabled by the Clean Air Act.

Mike Helbing is staff attorney for PennFuture and is based in Philadelphia.